35% of Americans would consider leaving the US – study

A study polling American and emigrant adults found that 35 percent would consider leaving the US, according to TransferWise, an international money transfer company. The most popular reason for wanting to leave was to seek a better quality of life.

Despite the results of the survey, 59 percent said it was home.
Another 58 percent said romantic and family ties were important
reasons for staying in the US.

Another 22 percent in the survey cited democratic society as a
reason to stay, and only 2 percent said low taxes. The online
poll surveyed 2,000 American and emigrant adults.

The percentage of those willing to leave greatly increases for
the millennial generation, with more than half of those aged 18
to 34, or 55 percent saying they would consider moving to another
country for a higher paying job.

“With technology impacting every part of our lives from how
we communicate to how we bank, it’s easier to move around the
world today than ever before,” said Joe Cross, US General
Manager of TransferWise, reported WUSA9.

“It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive and we don’t
have to lose touch with our roots either. I’d certainly expect
more Americans trying life abroad in the years to come, as well
as more foreigners like myself building a life here in the
US.”

Americans and emigrants are leaving the country in increasing
numbers. According to the Treasury Department, more than 3,000 US
residents renounced their residency/citizenship in 2014, a 14
percent jump from 2013. While that represents just 0.0001 percent
of the total US population, the number of people on record as
expatriating to other countries was well below 1,000 per year up
until 2010. So far in 2015, more than 1,300 people have renounced
their citizenship.

The online survey also found that 84 percent of US-born
Americans believe the country could be a more appealing place to
live, compared to 75 percent of foreign-born residents.

The survey was conducted just days before one of the US’s biggest
national holidays, the Fourth of July Independence Day
celebration.